


Retail Therapy

by handsometabbyc



Category: Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
Genre: M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-03 19:03:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14002578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/handsometabbyc/pseuds/handsometabbyc
Summary: After Winslow gets kicked out of the Swanage the first time Beef is around to intercept, and what started out as Winslow’s vague insistence on buying a dress turns into Beef takings him shopping, where he doesn't find what he was looking for (but does find what he needed).





	Retail Therapy

**Author's Note:**

> Don't know if this has been done before, but wanted to write a quick fic about it.

Beef looked around the men’s department of Macy’s with dismay. Winslow had called, saying something cryptic before bailing out. Luckily he mentioned something about being at this particular store.

“Excuse me ma’am…” He said, after managing to find an employee but not Winslow. “I’m looking for someone. He’s about my height, long tan trench coat, probably has a wild look in his eye? I love him to bits but sometimes he just gets a certain way…”

“Are you talking about the creep in the woman section?” The woman said with a little smirk.

“Watch it lady, he’s going through some shit.” Beef snapped a he started walking to the woman’s section. “…I assume.” He said to himself. Fuck if he knew what that was, he never really told him anything.

He found him looking through  the dresses intently, with what beef would guess was five of them over his arm already.

“Hey bud,” he said gently, Winslow looking up panickedly. “…You know your sorta freaking people out right?”

“Beef…” Winslow said, embarrassed. “…What are you doing here?” Winslow awkwardly tried to gain some composure, shifting the dresses on his arm.

“You called me. It was a little confusing, but I was able to figure out where you were thank God.”

“Oh yeah…” Winslow laughed uncomfortably. “Sorry about that.”

“Hey, don't be. What the hell is going on?” Beef said as Winslow drifted back to what he was doing but Beef stopped him again. “Hey, look at me, what’s wrong?”

“Its nothing, I’m sorry I bothered you.” Winslow stuttered out, nervous hand going through his dark blond hair, and Beef had to resist lifting up a soothing hand and doing the same. He knew it would have the opposite effect, especially here in the florescent glare of the department store.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Beef dismissed. “What have I always said about coming to me for anything? Like that problem you had with your landlord? We dealt with that bastard real good didn’t we?”

Winslow gave a tight little smile. “This is different.” He said simply, looking miserable as he hugged the dresses he was holding to his chest.

“Fine, don’t tell me…” Beef said as he gently pried the dresses from his arms and hung them all up unceremoniously where they certainly didn’t belong. “But one things for sure is you aren’t shopping for whatever it is at this dump.”

  Winslow opened his mouth in protest before shrugging and muttering: “Alright.”

As they left, Beef’s arm slung over Winslow’s shoulder, he shot a dirty at the floor employee he’d talked to earlier. 

Beef took him to a couple of small weird stores he liked to haunt, not really taking anything too seriously.

“Is this that place where you got that weird belt?” Winslow said as they looked around the almost (but not quite) overstocked store. He smiled a little at the gleam in Beef’s eyes as he browsed. Winslow was never really into shopping, but Beef was always partial to it. "...The one with the antlers?"

“Naw I think that was some gentlemen’s shop called Mahogany.”

“ _Mahogany_ ,” Winslow repeated in a serious tone. “That does sounds like a men’s clothing store, and not some place you’d show your face.”

“Hey, I’m openminded.” Beef said, pulling out a couple of palazzo style sleeveless jumpsuits, one in denim and the other in a dark floral and looked at Winslow in wide mouth astonishment. “Lookit these.”

Winslow tusked in dismissively, chuckling. “No.”

“At least try one of them on.” Beef insisted.

““Fine.” Winslow caved, taking the denim one from him, disappearing into the dressing room. After a few minutes Beef heard him call out: “Hey this doesn’t look half bad.”

Beef grinned. “What I tell you huh? Why don’t you come out and let me see?”

Winslow stepped out embasassedly in the wide legged outfit. “…I feel like I could trip in this.”

“Maybe, but you look like a million bucks.” Beef replied.

“You think?” Winslow said with a grin. “…It’s not exactly what I was looking for, but I do like it.”

“Then get it.” Beef insisted.

He did and Beef ended up getting the dark floral one. They went to a local diner decked out in the new matching outfits to celebrate.

“I should’ve gotten the floral one, it looks damn good.” Winslow said enviously as he shoveled away food, and Beef felt a little stab of envy of his own for the man’s metabolism.

“Tell you what string bean, you can fit into all of my clothes, so you can borrow it whenever you want.” Beef said.

“Well I wouldn’t fill it out as good as you are.” Winslow murmered across the table to him with a little smirk, which Beef waved away, feigning bashfulness.

“Get outta town.” He said.

There was a lull in the conversation as they both ate silently, before Beef spoke up again.

“So uh…are you going to tell me what happened now?” Beef said cautiously and Winslow’s face fell. “…I’m sorry, you know I have to ask.”

“Do you though?” Winslow said.

“Yes, of course I have to weirdo.”  Beef urged. “I give a shit, and I want to help.”

 “Your sweet, but I really doubt you could help me with this.” Winslow said miserably.

 “Please, try me.” Beef said. “What asshole do I need to fuck up? Just point me in their direction.”

“Well…Swan?” Winslow said.

“You mean the record producer?” Beef said confusedly.

“I gave him some of my music months ago but he never got back to me. I t-think he might’ve stolen it. I’ve been trying to get in touch but his people keep kicking me out -”

“Whoa, slow down a peg.” Beef said. “You just…gave him your music? Are you talking about that Faust thing you’ve been working on day in and day out for the last couple of months?”

Winslow concealed his face in his hands, shoulders shaking. Beef caught a couple of dinner goers staring, and he glared.

“Fuck off!” He snapped at them savagely, then moving to the other side of the booth so he could partially shield him from view.

Well if that’s the case of course he wouldn’t want to see you.” Beef joked. “…Sorry. So what does this have to do with you looking at dresses in that garbage store?”

“Well uh…Swan was only seeing girls, like for auditions so…”  Winslow said shakily.

“Oh my god…” Beef said looking at him with disbelief. “First of all, if you’re talking about the ‘auditions’ that fucker holds I seriously doubt you’d get far.”

“What do you mean?” Winslow said with confusion, and Beef tusked, nabbing one of Winslow’s fries, though Winslow shoved the plate in his direction encouragingly. He wasn't all that hungry now anyway.

“You sweet nieve babe, they aren’t actually auditions, it’s a front for these massive orgies. I have a friend of this gal whose been there three times already. She’s never actually gotten to even sing.”

“That actually explains a lot,” He said, remembering with a pang of guilt how Phoenix was running away practically in tears looking minorly disheveled and going on about how ‘she just wanted to sing.’ “…How did I not see that?”

“I don’t know hun.” Beef said. “I’m sure you can see now how showing up in drag wouldn’t help though.”

“Yeah…” Winslow said reluctantly. “…But he stole my music.”

“Honestly I don’t understand why you just gave it to him in the first place.” Beef said.

“I don’t know…desperation?” Winslow said. “I just wanted to get it out there, and now he’s going to wreak it.”

“Tell you what,” Beef said, scooting closer and clasping his hands. “First thing tomorrow we’ll go to the best lawyer our broke asses can afford, and well see if we can salvage this. If worse comes to worse…well you can always write new music, right?”

Winslow nodded as he squeezed Beef’s hand. “…I guess I could.”

They left the diner, catching glances as they walked down the sidewalk under the street lamps.

“We look like a couple.” Winslow remarked about it with a little contempt.

Beef laughed a little, wrapping an arm around his waist. “You say that like we aren’t.” He muttered into his neck.

“Well I don’t like it too be too obvious.” Winslow said.

“You can tell me if you mind.” Beef insisted.

“…I don’t mind.” Winslow said after a moment, sounding reluctantly pleased.

“That’s good,” Beef said, holding him a little tighter. “…because I wasn’t gonna let you go anyway.” he joked.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, if you liked it I always appreciate a kudo!


End file.
